A Scrapbook Documenting Isabel Anderson’s Gift of Anderson House to the Society of the Cincinnati

Larz Anderson, the great grandson of a Revolutionary War officer, was a devoted member of the Society of the Cincinnati. Upon his death in 1937, his widow, Isabel, oversaw the gift of their Washington, D.C. home, Anderson House, to the Society of the Cincinnati. Formalized in 1938, the Andersons’ gift provided the organization with the headquarters building it still uses today. For posterity, Isabel collected newspaper articles, images, and other related materials that highlighted the philanthropic act, compiling them in a scrapbook that is now part of our library collections. The Lunch Bite discusses the scrapbook by focusing on its contents and the subsequent use of Anderson House by the Society of the Cincinnati for diplomatic, social, and philanthropic events through the 1940s. This program accompanies our current exhibition, Affairs of State: 118 Years of Diplomacy and Entertaining at Anderson House, on view through December 31.